In many types of welding operations, a wire feeder feeds wire to a welder. The welding wire is normally wound upon coils or reels and is unwound therefrom as wire is being consumed. Some types of wire dispensers have been provided which can dispense wire from wooden reels while other types of wire dispensers have been provided which can dispense wire from paper reels. However, to best of applicant's knowledge, a wire dispenser has not been provided which can accommodate both paper and wooden spools.
One type of wire dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,624 wherein wire is pulled form a stationary coil. However, a twist or torque is created in the wire and such a twist or torque frequently interferes with the welding operation. Many other types of wire dispensers have also been provided but they are either extremely cumbersome, expensive or difficult to use.
A welding wire dispenser was disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,198 and represented a significant advance in the art. In the device of said patent, the weight of the wire reel causes the reel support to lower into braking engagement. It was found that it is sometimes necessary to move the braking surfaces into contact with one another by means of a spring when the wire on the reel is substantially depleted thereby resulting in less weight. Accordingly, a second patent was granted to applicant on an improvement in a welding wire dispenser and said improvement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,246.
Although the welding wire dispensers disclosed in applicant's first two patents did represent a significant advance in the art, it was found that an improved means for moving the braking surfaces out of frictional engagement with each other was advantageous. The further improved welding wire dispenser of applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,291 provided an improved means for raising and lowering the coil support and supporting shaft.
The welding wire dispenser disclosed in applicant's three patents are believed to a represent a significant advance in the art. The present invention is intended to improve upon applicant's three earlier devices in that welding wire may be dispensed from the dispenser at a much higher rate of speed than in the earlier devices.